Caviar is a popular, but rather expensive, delicacy which is often times made from the roe of sturgeon. Because of its high cost, caviar has traditionally been a food reserved mainly for the wealthy.
Unfortunately, the world""s supply of sturgeon is being depleted, due primarily to over fishing, as well as the destruction of the sturgeon""s natural habitat. Consequently, the future availability of caviar from sturgeon is uncertain; however, it seems almost certain that the price of such caviar will rise.
In light of the foregoing, many have attempted to develop an alternative dietary product similar to natural caviar. To date, these products have not been commercially successful for a variety of reasons, the most common being that these imitation products do not exhibit the same organoleptic properties, such as taste, appearance, and mouthfeel, as natural caviar. Replicating the organoleptic properties of natural caviar has proven to be difficult. For example, some imitation caviar products do not exhibit the same consistency as natural caviar or the same particle size or crispness as natural caviar. Further, some imitation caviar products are made from egg protein, a foodstuff, which is not acceptable to a large segment of the general public. Still further, problems in manufacturing non-natural caviar are frequent and include difficulty in consistently controlling the quality of the product. Lastly, many non-natural manufacturing processes are costly and are therefore not a realistic alternative to natural caviar.
It would be beneficial if a dietary man-made product could be developed which imitated the organoleptic properties of natural caviar. Such substitute or man-made caviar must be relatively easy and inexpensive to make and must maintain its organoleptic properties for extended periods of time when properly stored. It would also be beneficial if such a substitute caviar product were comprised of natural or healthy ingredients, thus increasing its appeal to a larger segment of the general public.
The present invention provides a substitute or man-made caviar whose organoleptic properties approach that of natural caviar from sturgeon. The invention also provides for a method of producing imitation caviar where the product quality is easily controlled and the cost of manufacturing is not prohibitive.
The inventive caviar is comprised of granules having shell with a gelled center, derived from an aqueous mixture containing food grade encapsulation materials, such as water-soluble carrageenans or gelatin, food grade coloring agents similar to natural caviar, food grade flavoring, water or oil having a fish flavor, and food grade sodium chloride. Other ingredients, such as food grade stabilizers, vitamins, proteins, and antioxidants may also be made a part of the granules.
The above-described mixture is introduced in the form of droplets into a food grade oil, such as mineral, vegetable, or paraffin, the temperature of which, at least in its lower layers, is below the temperature at which the droplets congeal to form granules. The thus-formed granules have an outside shell or membrane similar in hardness and crispness to natural caviar from sturgeon with a gelled center.
The granules are washed with water to remove any excess oil. The washed granules are added to an aqueous food grade solution containing water-soluble stabilizers, water or oil flavoring having the taste of fish, and sodium chloride, which form the caviar binding medium or syrup. The thus-formed, man-made caviar and binding medium in which it exists, exhibits a similar taste, mouthfeel, smell, and look of natural caviar.